How Rice is changing U.S. policy towards Iran

In the past few months, Secretary Rice has really changed the way the White House has dealt with Iran since Bush came to power:

• First it was the $75 million to 'promote democracy,'

• then the announcement by Rice that US is ready to directly start talking to Iran if Iran stops uranium enrichment

• then a meeting with a group of Iranian activists in Washington, DC hosted by Nicholas Burns, Rice's deputy, in which Burns clearly said the US policy is not pursuing regime change in Iran,

• and now it is former president Khatami's trip to the U.S. whose visa is issued by the the same Nicholas Burns.

Khatami is the highest ranking former or current official ever visited the States with an undiplomatic visa anf given what he represents now in Iran, it's a great sign that the U.S. has started to take the moderates seriously after all those nonsensical rhetoric of 'reform is dead, people are about to revolt' mainly advocated by the neo-conservative activists and writers.

What makes me quite confident about this new realisation is neo-con spokespersons such as Frontpage magazine or National Review Online or Michael Ledeen or Richard Perle have been attacking all these new steps. Just take a look:

• Just Say No to Khatami, by Kenneth R. Timmerman

• Iran Is at War with Us, Someone should tell the U.S. government, by Michael Ledeen

• Why Did Bush Blink on Iran? (Ask Condi), by Richard Perle

Another sign is that how VOA TV has become tolerant enough to give a vioce to even the most outspoken crtics of the Bush administration (such as Hamdi Dabashi and actually myself!).

Amir Abbas Fakhravar, in a testimony along with Ledeen at a senate committee hearing, harshly attacked Radio Farda and VOA Persian TV, accusing them of becoming a platform to promote reformers. "The reform theory is suspicious and unacceptable. It allows the Iranian regime to hide behind a mask, buying more time, and thereby growing stronger every day," he said.

He finally concluded that "the VOA and Radio Farda programming must support regime change."